The following is a republished press release from the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights and NOT written by The Ithaca Voice. Click here to submit community announcements directly to The Voice, or contact me at koconnor@ithacavoice.com.
The Tompkins County Office of Human Rights is announcing the third annual “What would MLK Say Today?” Poster Contest. The contest asks artists to imagine and express how Martin Luther King’s timeless strategies can be used to address today’s challenges. The theme this year is Voting Rights.
Artists age 14 and up are invited to create an 11×17 poster that imagines what MLK would say about the current state of voting rights in our nation.
With major provisions of the Voting Rights Act struck down in 2013, this year’s presidential election was the first in more than 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. Stricter voter ID laws, cutbacks in early voting, and limits on registration are just some of the barriers faced by hundreds of thousands of previously eligible voters.
On the other hand, a committee of the New York State Assembly passed a bill last year that would restore voting rights to people on parole, and if passed by the full Assembly, would affect more than 40,000 individuals.
As a witness to the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, what would MLK say today about voting rights in the United States?
The contest is open to Tompkins County artists age 14 and up. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners in two age categories (teen and adult). The deadline to submit entries is Friday, February 10th at 12 Noon.
Full guidelines, entry forms, and past winners can be found at http://tompkinscountyny.gov/humanrights
Winners will be announced on February 17 and posters will be displayed at the Tompkins County Public Library following the contest.